HANS Interview: Sanitation, roads top priorities for new Malkajgiri Commissioner

Hyderabad: T Vinay Krishna Reddy, the newly appointed Commissioner of the Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation, has assumed charge with a focus on improving sanitation, traffic management and basic civic infrastructure in the rapidly expanding urban body. Speaking toThe Hans India, he outlined the priorities of the newly formed corporation, including road and drain development, tackling garbage and mosquito problems, removing encroachments, and addressing staff shortages.

How do you feel about being appointed as the Commissioner of newly formed corporation?

This is my first responsibility in the urban sector, and I feel honoured to serve in a newly formed municipal corporation. I am very happy to have been given this opportunity by the government to contribute to urban development and public service. Similarly, it is also a challenging responsibility because a new corporation requires strong planning, efficient administration and dedicated teamwork.

What are the top priorities for the MalkajgiriMunicipal Corporation in the coming year?

First, sanitation is a major focus area. The corporation is committed to ensuring 100 percent sanitation coverage through door-to-door waste collection. Second, traffic management is another key priority. The corporation is working in coordination with other departments to identify and remove encroachments that obstruct roads.Third, the corporation will focus on the improvement and strengthening of self-help groups (SHGs) in urban areas.

What plans are you preparing for the development of roads and drains?

Under the road development plan, new Comprehensive Road Maintenance Programme(CRMP) roads will be developed. The Cabinet has recently approved the construction of these new roads, and they are currently in the tender stage. By June 12, we are planning to construct storm water drains. This will help prevent water inundation during the next rainy season.

Encroachment on footpaths is a major issue within your corporation limits. What action will you take to address this problem?

Based on the judgment of the Supreme Court that all footpath encroachments should be removed, we are focusing on clearing encroachments on major roads such as the Inner Ring Road as part of the 99-day action plan. Another initiative is to develop five roads in each circle as model roads to reduce and prevent footpath encroachments.

How will you overcome the shortage of staff/employees in corporation?

The employees related to the corporation are already in place and are working fully. However, the deputation posts are still pending, and we have requested the government to recruit them. We expect that all these positions will be filled within the next one month.

The garbage problem in the city is increasing; people are forced to dump waste on roads. In some areas, garbage collection is also delayed. What measures will you take to address this issue?

Efforts to improve door-to-door garbage collection have been initiated. At present, around 1,00,000 households are not covered under the door-to-door collection system, and their garbage is not being collected. We are currently mapping these households with Swachh autos to bring them under the collection network. It has also been noticed that many of these households are not paying the user charges to the Swachh auto operators. To address this issue, we are attaching households to specific autos and resolving the payment related concerns.

Secondly, there is a significant amount of garbage on the roads due to the insufficient number of vehicles. We have already requested additional vehicles from Ramky. In addition, 19 vehicles have been deployed. We will ensure that the number of vehicles and operational shifts are further increased to improve waste collection.

The mosquito problem in the city is severe, and there are allegations that fogging is not being carried out regularly. What actions will you take to control this issue?

To address the mosquito problem, a three-phase action plan has been initiated. First,anti-larval operations will be taken up. Staff will carry out spraying in drains and conduct house-to-house visits to identify and eliminate stagnant water in storage containers and other potential breeding points. Second, we are procuring vehicle-mounted fogging machines to ensure regular fogging in affected areas. Thirdly, regular and systematic garbage removal will be carried out to prevent conditions that support mosquito breeding.

What type of complaints,the corporation is receivingduring Prajavani?

Most of the complaints are related to illegal constructions, encroachments, and development works. Among the routine complaints, the majority are related to drainage issues.